Signage is used to convey information about products, services, or events to members of the public. Signage presently in use is printed at a remote location. It is then shipped to a point of display and installed at that point manually. The costs associated with printing, transportation, and installation are high. Advance planning is essential, as significant lead time is required to produce, ship and install the signage.
Between 20% and 30% of the signage produced is never installed due directly or indirectly to human error. If care is not taken, an error can occur during printing that renders the signage unsuitable for use. If the signage is not securely packed, damage can occur during shipping that renders the signage unsuitable for use. If appropriate care is not taken, damage to the signage can occur during installation. If delays occur in shipping or if staff do not proceed promptly with installation, there is no point installing signage after it's intended date of use has passed. Appropriately trained staff are required at every stage in the process in order to reduce the likelihood of human errors occurring.
It had been thought that the answer to these problems would lie in electronic signage. However, there is a dramatic increase in cost as the size of the electronic signage increases, this makes cost of such technology prohibitive for many applications. In addition, electronic sign technology remains subject to technical problems. Electronic displays capable of high resolution suffer from low brightness, making them only marginally useful for high ambient light applications. The displays are also subject to reflections off the display surfaces, limited viewing angles and poor overall contrast. The consumption of power by electronic signage is high. Reliability and life span remain as problems with some types of electronic signs. Until the electronic display technology matures, alternative technologies will have to be used to provide a selectively changeable image display.